<p>Bard. Lots of emphasis on science recently, and while there is a conservatory, there is also a very active music program, including an orchestra, on the college side. No marching band, alas, and it’s on the small side for your requirements, but might be worth a look. Bard is SAT optional, and even if you submit scores, they’re very “holistic” in their admissions.</p>
<p>I did a search on Collegeboards and there are 90 schools in the Mid-Atlantic and New England region with marching bands. I haven’t found a school yet that doesn’t have a biology major so I didn’t add that to the search. A lot of the schools that came up aren’t talked about much here but may be an opportunity for some merit aid and undergrad research not readily available at the 'name brand" schools, which will be important for getting into grad school.</p>
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<p>Her primary instrument is oboe. I don’t get the impression that her musical emphasis is on marching band.</p>
<p>yes, her primary focus in music would be oboe…marching band would be more of a social activity; since oboe players can not play oboe in marching band (she would play flute); so that being said, it is not a deal breaker if there is no marching band,</p>
<p>Do any of your instate public universities meet her criteria?</p>
<p>Case has many STEM majors and music opportunities for them too (including marching band). </p>
<p>OP = STEM students tend to be strong in Math, both in SAT and class grades. For college acceptance, the SAT scores are key. For college/bio success… the A grade in math might be a good predictor… IF she is taking challenging math classes. I’m glad your D is taking calc senior year. That will give her a taste of how she likes college math. It could be that she has a good head for higher level math, but makes “stupid mistakes” on math SAT.</p>
<p>tawtaw, NCSU’s campus isn’t very traditional at first glance but once you’re there, it grows on you. My S1 absolutely loved his four years at NCSU. The NCSU marchng band is good too. If they have the program she likes, she might want to reconsider.
NCSU has a WISE (Women in Science and Engineering) dorm option.</p>
<p>Other NC options would be East Carolina University and Appalachian State University.</p>
<p>rice university or muhlenberg college (about 2500 students) two awesome schools lots of quirky kids and very tolerant.</p>
<p>hendrix college is a hidden gem, very tolerant happy student body and like rice and muhlenberg super strong science!</p>
<p>Tawtaw, I may be the outlier here, but I believe that academically rigorous schools care less about scores than grades and rank. If you mean that she has 4.27 weighted GPA out of 4.0, then your daughter will be in good shape for many colleges.</p>
<p>She should do some prep (take a course or self study) take the SAT again, try the ACT then let it go. Concentrate on the strength of her profile which is considerable. Make sure that one of her recommendations is from a math teacher who can emphasize her ability and aptitude in spite of her test scores.</p>
<p>You mention that money may be an issue (at UofR, is that Rochester, Richmond?). Could you please clarify? Is your family eligible for need based aid? Or are you looking for merit aid? Your financial situation will have an enormous impact on your daughter’s list.</p>
<p>Money aside, if she seeks a supportive nurturing environment with accessible professors, she might consider some of the smaller liberal arts colleges.</p>
<p>Even though it would be a big reach, I want to mention Williams because they really favor kids with music backgrounds. There are multiple performance opportunities on campus and in the Berkshires community (including both a symphony and a marching band) and you don’t have to be a music major to take advantage of them. Sciences and research opportunities are excellent. I would also take a look at Wesleyan.</p>
<p>just to clarify U of R is university of richmond, where my husband went to school…but at close to 60k a year, unless she gets merit, it would be a stretch…although we would not qualify for need based financial aid being a dual income middle class family…I would like to think that the one “low” math sat would not preclude her from good schools…but it’s so hard to tell…and with her music background I would think she would be an asset to any school…but the reality is that lots of schools would still be considered ‘reach schools’ and we really need to be building a list of good schools that are ‘safety’…and I was hoping that some of the schools suggested here could fit that criteria…</p>
<p>What about James Madison? They’ve got a great music dept, she could surely do biology, it’s in state for tuition, and the kids love it. Pretty sure there is a marching band, but you ban certainly check. D is applying there hoping for honors with similar stats (we hate the SAT, and like your D they don’t match her GPA). Neat school in a lovely location.</p>
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<p>I’d say that your financial situation is a much bigger challenge to overcome than your daughter’s math scores. Use a couple of on-line calculators to determine how much need based aid you could expect. You may be surprised, but if you don’t qualify for enough to make it workable, then your daughter shouldn’t be looking at colleges that only offer need based aid.</p>
<p>I agree that merit aid is a possibility for a student with your daughter’s credentials, but substantial merit is fiercely competitive and scores may be more of a factor than they would for admissions in general. </p>
<p>If your daughter must receive merit aid in order to attend, then I’d suggest that she widen her criteria greatly. I would also encourage her to put aside her reluctance to consider all-woman’s colleges and take a look at Smith. Excellent music, excellent sciences and excellent merit based financial support. </p>
<p>I would also add Rhodes and Grinnell for good science and good merit. I don’t know about their music departments, but her involvement would have to be a plus.</p>
<p>OP - You have the right attitude. Build a list with a variety of schools. </p>
<p>"I would like to think that the one “low” math sat would not preclude her from good schools… " - Agree. It looks like Math 550 is 66%… pretty decent.
<a href=“College Board - SAT, AP, College Search and Admission Tools”>College Board - SAT, AP, College Search and Admission Tools;
<p>For the tippy top schools (where almost nobody gets accepted), even perfect SAT scores don’t assure acceptance, so who cares. In most other colleges 550 Math SAT would not preclude your D… but especially in STEM (Science,Tech,Engineering Math) majors, she will be competing for scholarships with students with higher Math SATs. For most of us the college game is a combo of acceptance and scholarships.</p>
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<p>The lower end of the spectrum you see in the stats for highly selective schools is for hooked candidates only (URM, athletes, legacies, et al.). Everyone else needs top GPAs and scores just to get their files read.</p>
<p>Furman…good size, Greenville is neat town but Furman is out a little bit. Gives money for playing instrument even if not music major. Strong music program and marching band. Wonder oboe teacher (taught my D in HS). Strong premed so I assume good biology dept.</p>
<p>The big question is at what level she plays and at what level she wants to continue playing. If music will be a recreational activity for her, she will have a lot of schools to choose from. If she wants to pursue music at a top level, then she will have a time crunch because science is a challenging major. </p>
<p>Frankly, I think you should chase the $ first and then check to see what musical opportunities the school offers. The size is a bit challenging since lacs tend to be smaller and universities larger. Some ideas: George Mason, James Madison or Va Tech as an affordable instate option where she may get merit $. See if Gettysburg offers merit $; it’s a bit smaller than she wants but has a good music program. I’ll second Case and South Carolina where I think she might be in the running for merit $.</p>
<p>Having grown up in Virginia, I can’t imagine going outside the state in this situation. I graduated from W&M and D was a music major at JMU. W&M is an excellent choice. There is no reason that she will not fit in there. She should try again there. My D’s roommate was also a music major at JMU and plays the oboe. She is very talented and had great performance opportunities. The oboe studio is small. Some are scared off by the party school rep at JMU but there really are all types there. The first few weeks can be tough because it seems that you may never fit in if you don’t party, but if you give it time, everyone seems to find a fit there, particularly with the built in support of the music school kids. They are typically an eclectic group - some party, some don’t, some liberal, some very conservative, some shy, some very outgoing, etc.</p>
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<p>The problem is that people are suggesting schools on this thread where her higher CR and Writing scores are also unrealistically low. Tufts is an excellent example. Her CR is in the bottom 25% and her W score barely squeaks into the bottom of the midrange. We’re talking hooked student and recruited athlete territory. And unfortunately musicians are not hooked unless they are just about Yo-Yo Ma. At least she’s not a violinist! (BT/DT, 
) The oboe is a very difficult and less common instrument as you know and it may well be a tip somewhere. Speaking of that, she REALLY ought to prepare an arts supplement. Her oboe teacher ought to be able to help her with that. At Rice her scores are just at the 25% mark: a little better, but not much. Certainly, she could pick out a couple of schools like those as her reaches, but I don’t gather that reaches are what you are looking for here.</p>
<p>Your daughter sounds like a very bright and talented girl. She outperforms her scores, and her scores are really perfectly respectable and put her in a good position at lots of good schools. Just not at the more selective schools that her other qualifications would indicate. That is why the highly-selective test-optional schools are likely to be her match-to-low-reach schools. That is why several of us keep urging her to take another look at Smith. For that matter, look at Bowdoin and their FA policies. It has pretty deep pockets and you MAY get something there. Her other best option is probably going to be to look at schools where her CR and Writing scores put her near the top of the class, like Furman, and where she may therefore get merit. At University of Rochester, her best scores are solidly in the middle 50%, and the math is not THAT far below range–and Rochester gives merit scholarships for musicians. Whether or not they would award one to a person with average scores I cannot say, because both of the kids I personally know who got one were more in 2300 territory.</p>
<p>And luckily, since you live in VA, she has excellent state options.</p>
<p>IMHO, casting a wide net is almost always a good option, and it is especially the case if the student needs significant FA or does not fall neatly into a slot, where everything matches, so to speak.</p>
<p>^^we would love her to go to W & M, she has legacy there with her grandmother, grandfather who went to law school there, aunt and uncle…but it is a reach school…her GC told us at parent’s night that W & M was a reach for everyone…she has contacted the oboe instructor there who is very willing to meet with her and give her a lesson…don’t know if they ‘need’ oboes and that could be a tip…but can’t count on it. VA does have some great schools and we will visit JMU and VA Tech (very big but good science). Some of the smaller LACs would feel like high school because they are not too much bigger than where she goes now and she wants to get out of that ‘everyone knows everyone’ and cliques…etc…so I think we need to be at least 5,000 or so students to make that happen : )</p>